Nato foreign ministers were today set to approve Turkey’s request for Patriot
missiles to counter any threats from neighbouring Syria after the United
States issued a blunt warning to Damascus against the use of chemical
weapons.

Officials from the 28-member alliance meeting in Brussels have said that the
US-made missiles, to be deployed along the Turkey-Syria border, would be for
purely defensive purposes.

Ankara, which has been highly supportive of the Syrian opposition, wants the
Patriots to defend itself against possible retaliatory attacks by Syrian
missiles carrying chemical warheads.

President Obama last night warned President Assad not to turn chemical